West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1887-05-12

ter, but long after the paper 4 gone the
tcSult may perhaps I've seen in the blasted
imagination OF those who saw it. Tho queen
OF death holds n banquet every night, and
her guests. Alas that tho fair brow of
American art should be blotched with this
plague spot, and that philanthropiStS, bother
ing themselVeS about smaller evils, should lift
up no united and vehement voice against this
great calamity.
Young man buy not this moral strvchnins
for your soull Pick not up this nest of coied
hdders for your pocket phtronize no news
stand that keeps them! Have your room bright
with good engraVings; but for these uncenn
pictOrials have not one wall not one bureau.
not one pocket. A man Is no better than tho
pictures ho loves 60 look at II your eyes
are not pure, your heart cannot be. AZ a
news stand ono can guess the character
OF the man by the kind ot pictorial he purl
chascs. When the devil fails to get man 90
read bad book he sometimes succeeds i'm got
ting him TO look at n bad picture. when
Satan goes a-fishing ne does not caro- whether
IL Is long line or n short line, II no only
draws his victim in. Beware OF lascivious
pictorials young man; I'm tho name of Al
might God charge YOU.
III L have this morning successfully laid
down any principles 10y which YOU may Judge
in regard TO books and newspapers then
have done something which 1 ,hall not bo
ashamed OF on the day which shall try oyery
mans work, OF what sort IL is
Cherish good books and newspapers Re
ware OF the bad ones. One column may savc
your soul; oue paragraph may ruin H.
benjamin Franklin said that tho reading OF
cotton Mether's Essay on Doing Good
moldcd his entire life. Tho assassin Of Lord
Russell declared that no was led into
crime Tl by reading, one vivid romance
Inc consecrntel John ANGEL James
than whom England never produced n better
man, declared in his old days that no had
never yet got over tho evil effects Of having
Tor hiteen minutes onco read bad book
But need not 60 80 far OFT could come
near homo, and toll YOU OF something that
occurred In my college days / could toll
You OF comrade who was great hearted
noble, and generous. He was studying for
an honorable profession; but ne had
he said 10 mo one day: "De Witt
would You like TO read itr'. / answered: "Ycs
would" took the book and read II only
Tor few minutes ] WINS really startled with
what saw there. md handed the book
back 10 him and said: 'You had better do
stroy that book No, no kept t. lie read
It, Ho reread Il. After n while ne gave up
religion as myth. Ho gave up God as a
nonenlty. lie gave upthe Bible as fable lie
gavo up the Church OF Christ as n useless in
sututi"n. He gave up good morals as being
unnecessarily stringent / have heard Of him
but twice in many years Tho time before
the last heard OF him, he was confirmed
inebriate. The last time I heard OF him. he
was coming ont OF an insane nsylumLin
body, mind and soul an awful wreck. / no
heve that one inhdel book killed him for two
worlds
so homo today, and look through your
library, and then, having looked through
ourlibrary, look on tho stand where YOU keen
your pictoriAls and newspapers. and apply
tho Christian principles have laid down this
morning. III thore is anything i'm your homo
that cannot stand tho test do not give 10
away, for IL might spoil an immortal soul;
do not soil IL, for tho money you get
would be the price OF blood; but rather kin
die fire on your kitchen hearth, or in your
back yard, and then drop the poison in Il, and
keep stirring the blaze until from preface APP
pendiX there shall not be n single paragraph
left, and the bonfire in Brooklyn shall be as
consuming as that ono in the streets Of
Ephesus